The Country Bumpkin

Summer is upon us and the gin world is full of lovely fresh summer cocktails, although the majority of these are refined libations, drink with class and sophistication. My summers are not always suitable for such refined drinks, I often spend time outdoors with barbecue food and it's a tad difficult to mix up a Basil-Gin Smash or a White Lady in such surroundings. Rum on the other hand has a variety of rustic beverages, the Caipirinha arguably being the the simplest and easy to concoct with limited means.


My discovery of a Gin Caipirinha came a few months back when Mark Scott, the bartender at one of my regular haunts could not furnish me with Brazil's finest so we opted to substitute it for gin instead. The result was a rather Gimlet-esk beverage, ice cold with a beautiful zesty freshness, by opting for gin as opposed to Cachaca the beverage is somewhat cleaner, we originally used Plymouth Gin which shone through well giving the drink an additional botanical complexity.


The simplicity and rustic charm of the Caipirinha is it's beauty, originally it was made as a peasants drink, drunk in the slums of Brazil as a way of taming the raw, fire water that is Brazils sugar cane rum, Cachaca. I have always been a firm believer that premium, smooth Cachaca has no place in the Caipirinha, it was this line of thinking which led me to conclude the gin of choice for the Country Bumpkin, but first a note on the name.


Caipirinha translates a peasants drink and as I was giving Brazils national drink a British twist it felt only right to furnish it with it's own name, however the direct translation was missing a little charm. A Country Bumpkin is defined as 'someone usually from the midwest, whom lives in a small town but does not live on a farm and do all that labor. usually on the poorer side' it could not better sum up the areas in which I spend most of my sunny down time.


So back to the issue of what gin to used. As nice as Plymouth and a few Martin Miller's Country Bumpkins have been it did not really fit with my thesis of the quality of Cachaca to use in a Caipirinha. It's turns out that super premium gin is an unnecessary addition to such a simple drink and after all there is only one gin widely available in the taverns of every small village, Gordon's.

The Country Bumpkin Photographed by Sofia Miranda

The Country Bumpkin
Gordons Gin 50ml
Lime Wedges 4/8th's
White Sugar 2 Bar Spoons


Now before we discuss the recipe for the Country Bumpkin, white sugar is being used because gin doesn't have the rustic sugar cane notes of Cachaca which may benefit from brown sugar, i'm using granulated to really exfoliate the zest of the lime and to help grind the last drop of juice out.


So pop the lime wedges in to a suitable, short receptacle, any old thing will do, lets not be picky with this, perhaps... a jam jar? Sprinkle with your sugar and muddle (crush), spoon on crushed ice, pour on a healthy dram of England's Oldest, stir, top with crushed ice and serve with straws.


Being a punchy gin Gordon's big juniper flavour shines through nicely with a great sweet sour balance in a slightly raw yet refreshing drink.


Hope You Enjoy,


Umpleby  





   

The French Martini

When most people speak of a French Martini they conjure up thoughts of a fruity based vodka drink, a simple mix of vodka, Chambord and pineapple juice, the signature serve of the French, berry liqueur, until recently this was certainly my perception of the drink.

Whilst trawling through vintage liquor advertisements to decor my house, I stumbled across a Seagrams Gin advertisement from the 1970's promoting the Seagrams French Martini, a martini twist that calls for a few drops of cognac to be added to your usual martini. At first I was a little taken back by advertisment, not because of the gentleman's amazing, bushy, facial hair, but rather unusual mix of gin and cognac. After a little considering though, this isn't the first drink to use gin and and aged spirit in a martini twist, i'm thinking the smokey martini, and the fact that Seagrams is a gin which is already acquainted with oak I threw caution to the wind and mixed one of these bad boys up...    

A 1970's advertisement for a Seagrams Gin, French Martini

As suggested I mixed up my regular martini, slightly moist with Noilley Prat vermouth, i'm usually partial to a spot of bitters, rather than the classic addition of orange bitters I felt the need for a spot of aromatics, my French Martini looked a little something like this; 

The French Martini

Seagrams Extra Dry Gin - 50ml

Noilley Prat - 15ml

Martell VSOP Cognac - 1.25ml

Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters - 1 dash

Stir all ingredients over ice, strain in to a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

The French Martini, Photographed by Sofia Miranda. (No snails were harmed in the taking of this picture)

Having used Seagrams along side bitters and cognac the martini wasn't it's usual crystal clear self, it had a light lemon colour similar to that of a young chardonnay, the aroma was rather interesting with the usual welcome juniper hit supported by light vanilla and a vibrant zest of lemon courtesy of the garnish. The first sip was lovely and smooth with a slight alcoholic bite, the juniper was very dominant with the lemon still hanging around, the subtle vanilla notes from Seagrams made an appearance alongside an unusual oak and winter spice from the cognac and the bitters.

I was very impressed with this drink and will look forward to a bit of experimentation with the proportion and ingredients in my martini, perhaps a perfect martini (equal measures of sweet and dry vermouth) would stand up nicely to a few drops of cognac, I would limit the experimentation of what gin to use to those aged expressions, Seagrams Barrel Proof would be interesting as would Citadelle Reserve, hmmm....

Hope You Enjoy,


Umpleby  

Vesper's are Forever

The Vesper Martini is one of the cocktail worlds most famous libations, the recipe first appeared in Ian Flemmings 1953 book Casino Royal and was given a new lease of life in the 2006 movie of the same name.


In Casino Royal (2006), Bonds whilst indulging in one of his glorious vices, this time gambling, switches his now famed Vodka Martini for a Vesper, the recipe for which he recites; 'Three measures of Gordon's; one of vodka; half a measure of Kina Lillet Shaken over ice' with a thin slice of lemon peel. 


True to his character Bond is 'Keeping the British end up' with his choice of gin although there has been a fair few very British brands released since the original 1953 recipe, i'm thinking for a reasonable juniper hit but a little more complexity Plymouth Gin, a softer style of gin is a delicious choice. Ian Flemming recommends a nice Polish vodka for the Vesper, one can assume either Rye or Potato which I find a 'trifle over powering', my preference is for something a little more subtle and given the British nature of the drink Tanqueray Sterling is a fine choice. 
Kina Lillet is a bitter aperitif which is no longer available and has been replaced by Lillet Blanc, I usually opt for a carefully controlled tear drop of Angostura Bitters in an attempt to recreate the classic recipe.


As for this 'Shaken, not Stirred' business, my preference for a stirred martini was made clear in my post about the Gin Martini although there is a rather interesting study in favour of the shaken martini I feel compelled to share with you. The Department of Biochemistry at the University of Western Ontario in Canada suggests a shaken martini is more effective in deactivating hydrogen peroxide than the stirred variety, thereby helping prevent diseases associated with ageing. Any one interested in checking this study out please click here.


It would seem I am beginning to digress so without further interruption;


The Vesper Martini

Plymouth Gin 45ml
Tanqueray Sterling Vodka 15ml
Lillet Blanc 10ml
Angostura Bitters 1 tear drop


Stir or shake over ice (dependant on age and health) strain in to a chilled Martini glass and garnish with a thin slice of lemon peel.

The Vesper is a rather interesting twist in the classic gin martini, at first I was rather sceptical of vodka's use when mixed with gin, assuming it would simply dilute and weaken the flavour, turns out it plays it's part rather well. The vodka smoothes out the gin just enough to take the edge off, the lillet being slightly sweeter than the usual dry vermouth works wonderfully with the toned down gin with the hint of bitterness balancing out the sweetness.


A while back I treated myself to a bottle of Chase Marmalade Vodka,a lovely if not slightly sweet vodka flavoured with Seville Orange Marmalade and Seville Orange Peel. As nice as this is I was at a bit of a loss of how to mix it when it occurred to me that the sweet orange notes of the vodka would combine perfectly those of Whitley Neill and The Breakfast Vesper an amalganation of the Breakfast Martini, a delightful libation containing gin, cointreau, lemon juice and marmalade and the Vesper Martini was born.


The Breakfast Vesper

Whitley Neill - 45ml

Chase Marmalade Vodka - 15ml

Campari - 5ml

Stir all ingredients in a large mixing vessel, ensuring the drink is ice cold, strain in to a chilled Martini glass and garnish with a thin slice of pink grapefruit zest.

The Breakfast Vesper, Photographed by Sofia Miranda

As expected the Whitley Neill is a perfect pairing with the Marmalade Vodka, however with a reasonable sweetness already present I wanted to avoid using Lillet. Rather than going back down the vermouth route I popped in a little Campari for something to to balance the sweetness, it turns out Campari's bitterness was just the ticket. The Whitley Neill shines through followed by very subtle orange marmalade flavour with little sweetness, the campari is only just detectable plays its part of balancing the sweetness well. A rather cheeky twist on the Vesper but probably a little too hard core for breakfast... only just.

So thinking this post was over with I stumbled over a rather rare vodka, Chase Smoked, the first flavour released by the Herefordshire Distillery, a flavour I had the pleasure of tasting when I visited the distillery a year or so back. When I first tasted the vodka I immediately had the urge for a smoky martini, with gin of course. Usually made with scotch in addition to gin and vermouth I was looking forward to using this cleaner smoked spirit... wait a second, gin, vodka... oh here comes another Vesper Twist...


The Smoked Vesper

William Chase Gin 45ml

Chase Smoked Vodka 15ml

Noilly Prat Vermouth 15ml

Stir all ingredients over ice and strain in to a chilled cocktail glass, garnish with a lime twist.

The Smoked Vesper, Photographed by yours truly.

As much as this drink makes me look like a whore to Chase Distilleries, the William Chase gin and smoked vodka are a sensational pairing, something about smokey apples really seems to work, I went for a Noilly Prat as the spicy botanical mix works well with the complexity of William Chase Gin.The aroma of this drink is sensational, fresh lime lest with a hint of smoke, a type of smoke I would describe as cleaner than that of a scotch, some really floral elderflower notes shine through as well as some crisp green apple.

We Hope You Enjoy

Umpleby & Brown

We Live in an Unusual World...

Hendrick's Gin, photographed & Edited by Sofia Miranda

Hendrick's Gin is a cheeky little bottling, a New Western Dry style of gin distilled at William Grant's spirit production plant in Scotland.

Hendrick's is a small batch gin, well, small, small batch (the usual still size for small scale being 1,000 litres and the still used to produce Hendrick's being 450 litres). Hendrick's pride themselves on being a rather unusual product, and why not, the gin is bottled in a unique apothecary style bottle, distilled in Scotland and uses random botanicals such as chamomile flowers, meadowsweet as well as the distilled oils of rose petals and cucumber. To me the above aren't what makes Hendrick's unusual, the botanicals and the bottle certainly make it unique, but there are a fair amount of gin's being distilled in Scotland now day's. What truly strikes me as unusual is the use of two different methods of distillation and blending the two together to create the final product.

Blending spirits is a rather common practice in the world alcohol, brandies, whiskies and rums are commonly subject to blending, to achieve consistency, complexity or simply to cut costs by blending well aged products with some with not so much wood contact. As for gin, some gin producers prefer to distill each individual botanical separately and blend them together to give them more control over each flavour. What Hendrick's does different is to distill it's selected botanicals in two types of still, a style of pot still known as a Bennet still, and a carter head still. When using the Bennet still the botanicals are steeped in the neutral spirit before distillation, this method stews the botanicals and the final distillate has a more intense, full on deep flavour. When using the carter head still the botanicals are blaced above the neutral spirit and are infused as the vapour passes through them, this style of distillation produces a rather delicate and subtle flavour. The two distillates are then blended together, two get the best from both styles of distillation, before the distilled essence of cucumber and rose are added to the mix.

The resulting gin is a rather pleasant change from the norm, arguably one of the pioneering gins of the New Western Dry style. Hendrick's has a wonderfully fresh, floral aroma notes of rose petals, violets and a slight hint of lavender all spring to mind, the cucumber is less dominant than one would be led to believe although it does impart an almost melon like freshness, lovely subtle pine notes from the juniper but as one would expect from a New Western Dry these do not take centre stage.

On the palate its much of the same story, very floral with the rose being the more dominant than it was on the nose, juniper makes a welcomed appearance, also more dominant on the palate,  this is followed by a lovely citrus zing and a once again subtle fresh cucumber notes.

Hendrick's is a very unique, approachable gin, between this and its rather odd advertising campaign I believe it has done great things taking consumers out of their comfort zones and introducing them to a new style of gin.

We Hope You Enjoy

Umpleby & Brown

Does it Really Get Better With Age?

Citadelle Reserve Gin, Photographed & Edited by Sofia Miranda

After sampling Seagrams Extra Dry Gin I decided to dig out my bottle of Citadelle Reserve, another aged gin from a more premium producer. Having been surprised by the quality of Seagrams and with a slightly hazy memory of Citadelle I was hoping for big things...

Citadelle Reserve is the combination of the original Citadelle Gin a vibrant French gin containing a staggering 19 botanicals, with a few months ageing in what one can only assume given their cellar master would be ex Cognac casks. The bottling I am sampling is from the 72nd bottle from cask 9 of 21 from 2008.

Usually I skip the aesthetics of gin during tastings, Clear? Yes! Good is the usual format of such things, obviously with an aged gin it is necessary to take a gander. The Citadelle Reserve has a lovely light golden colour, slightly reminiscent of a crisp, fresh white wine.

At first on the nose I was met with a surprising amount of juniper, something the unaged expression of Citadelle isn't known for, this juniper hit was quickly followed by a rather unusual yet welcome vanilla nose with some spicy peppery notes, a classic aroma courtesy of the coriander. After a breif break and a breath of fresh air I nosed the gin a second time, to my amazement the aroma had transformed and I was greeted with a fresh lemon citrus hit, I also got the aroma of what I can only describe as hops, a little bit of an unusual one for gin but very interesting nonetheless, highly complex on the nose now on the the main event, the palate!

The complexity of this gin continued on the palate, most notably the oaky sweetness, i'm thinking vanilla and a hint of caramel, this was followed by a light citrus tingle with the juniper taking a step back from the dominant aroma I first encountered, other notes include spicy coriander and bitter orange as well as a wide variety of other flavours not identifiable but minglng to form an incredibly complex and interesting bottling.

All in all a thoroughly pleasant experience, aged gin however unusual it may seem is begining to make a name for itself if not only among a small number of those in the know, whether it will ever be the next big thing is yet to be seen, Seagrams is a super large brand but whether this is more to do with advertising and mass production rather than the quality and interest in it's unusual production methods is a debatable. Either way, Citadelle Reserve is an exceptional and very unusual gin, one I would encourage ever gin enthusiast to indulge in. I look forward to sampling the next aged gin to hit the market, rumour has it this will be launched at Gin Fete 2011!

We Hope You Enjoy

Umpleby & Brown

I've Got Love For Gin if it Was Mixed in the 80's....

I sometimes feel mixology is taken a little too seriously, bartenders often forget to appreciate certain ingredients or drinks for the part they have played in broadening peoples horizons to the world of mixed drinks. I also feel this snobbery is more prominent with gin than any other spirit, Rum has the Tiki craze, a respectable alternative to the classic cocktail culture, vodka has the not so respectable disco era where it was abused by a wide array of fruity liquors or syrups to cover up any hint of alcohol where as gin with it's big bold flavours and a firm set of widely accepted serves, the gin and tonic and the martini has survived bastardisation relatively unscathed, well with the exception of the odd hiccup that is...

One ever so disco cocktail is the Blue Lagoon, commonly mixed up in 80's themed bars with vodka, blue curacao, and lemonade. The drink actually hails from one of the most inflencial bars for classic drinks, Harry's New York Bar in Paris. The original recipe was a simple mix of gin, blue curacao and fresh lemon, simply a gin sour with slight notes of orange and a cheeky colour. The original is delicious but a little far removed from the one served up throughout the era of cheese, perhaps an amalgamation of the two is in order for a drink worthy of sipping when donning bright leg warmers and singing along to to the Summer of 69...

The Blue Lagoon
Martin Millers Gin 75ml
Blue Curacao 20ml
Apricot Brandy 15ml
Lemon Juice 25ml
Soda Water Top

Shake all ingredients except soda, strain in to an curvaceous and slightly tacky glass, top with soda and garnish with a mint bush and the largest orange wheel you can craft.

The Blue Lagoon, Photographed by Sofia Miranda

Essentially a dry gin collins with a fruity hint of orange and apricot brandy, perfect for summer sipping. The addition of Apricot Brandy combines with the blue curacao to provide a little sweetness, balancing the drink without overpowering any other flavours. For my choice of gin, I found a hefty slug of Martin Millers to be a perfect match to the light citrus notes, adding that little extra something with the floral violet and spicy black pepper notes, making it a winning choice in the Blue Lagoon, and as for the orange wheel, a nod to Mr Humphery who I believe is fond of such garnishes...

So bright blue and fizzy out of the way the search continues for more disco for gin to boogie on down with, a surprisingly difficult task, leaving me in need of a a little improvisation...


Pre bartender snobbery the June Bug was a firm favourite of mine, a tropical mix of coconut rum, melon and banana liqueurs with pineapple juice, sweet, fruity and easy to drink. My sentimental feelings for this drink inclined me to craft a gin twist, but what gin could possibly replace a coconut rum in such an exotic beverage?

Actually, one does spiring to mind...

The Hoxton June Bug
Hoxton Gin 50ml
Midori 15ml
Banana Liquer 15ml
Lime Squeeze x 2
Freshly extracted pineapple juice 100ml

Shake all ingredients and strain in to a tall glass over ice, an over the top, half moon pineapple garnish is definitely essential.

The Hoxton June Bug, photographed by Sofia Miranda 

What can I say, a little more complex and less artificial than the June Bug's of old, the coconut notes are noticeable yet far fresher than any coconut rum, the grapefruit notes of Hoxton cuts through the tropical fruity notes adding a degree of freshness with the juniper raising it's head at the finish. Very reminiscent of the tropical flavours of my uneducated drinking day's, an enjoyable blast from the past!

We Hope You Enjoy

Umpleby & Brown

Berry-tastic Gin

Berry's are an essential and common botanical in gin, juniper berries must always be present, cubeb berries sometimes join them to add a peppery spice, berries which are rarely used in gin are those we consume on a regular basis, blackberries and blueberries are infant a rather unusual botanical to find in gin.

The gin I am talking about is Brockmans Gin, one of those new western dry styles we hear so much about these days. and in true form of this new style of gin Brockmans far removed from the classic juniper heavy styles often associated with the category.

The label claims the liquid inside carries with it subtle aromas of berry, personally the first smell was like being kicked in the face by Chuck Norris with a bramble bush attached to his foot, there is an ever so slight whiff of juniper, think juniper under the influence of horse tranquillisers and you would be on the right track.    

On the palate Brockmans is pretty smooth, as promised, there is a degree of sweetness with the berry notes once again proving dominant, I find an almost peppery spice which I often associate with coriander, juniper makes the occasional brief appearance but certainly does not hang around for too long.

The chaps at Brockmans claim this is a new gin experience, a claim which is certainly substantiated by the unique flavour profile, although it does raise  the question once again niggles at the back of my mind, is juniper the dominant flavour, the necessary requirement for a gin to be a gin?

A rather enjoyable gin, smooth and sweet, it definitely stands out from the crowd, I also find it refreshing for a gin to be intended to be drunk straight rather than made to mix. This would be a perfect gin for those uninitiated in the ways of juniper heavy spirits.

We hope you enjoy

Umpleby & Brown